The International Exorcist Association in Rome is sounding the alarm over the sale of a children's book that teaches children to summon demons.
The book, titled The Children's Book of Demons, was published back in July, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago when Walmart began selling the book that it immediately caught the attention of the public.
The book sparked significant online protest from people opposed to teaching children the dark arts, despite the fact that the "spells" contained in the book are fictional and centered around things like avoiding household chores or defeating bullies.
The furor caused by this book now reached Rome itself and was followed by a statement from an organization known as the International Association of Exorcists.
The group's president, Father Francesco Bamonte, wrote on his website that “you are not getting involved with demons. Whoever invites a child to summon a demon is like a person who puts a grenade in their hands to play with. Sooner or later the child will pull the pin and the bomb will explode in his hands."
Bamonte points out that the book contains a number of symbols that children are encouraged to draw in order to summon various demons.
According to the exorcist, these symbols are remarkably similar to those found in authentic magical manuals known as grimoires.
Bamonte chided the author of the book for "simplifying the grimoire as much as possible" and "turning it into a fun game: while demonic seals act as a" phone number "to contact the spirits of evil."
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The exorcist lamented that the book is a gradual "project" aimed at making demonic entities more acceptable to the public and, ultimately, everything is done in order to introduce into the mass consciousness "the proposal to worship the devil."